Added: 4 years ago
From: JV68
Views: 463,255
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:

All Comments (242)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Totally addicted. Can't stop playing this video.

  • To all at JAV and especially Joe- keep up the excellent work - it has opened up a whole new world to me - THANK YOU SO MUCH . With best regards Adrian McLaughlin Northern Ireland

  • Gigantic!

  • Every now and then the French remind us how far we have gone down a bad path.

  • Bring your "Kleenex"!!

  • To respond to this massive idea is to well up with French tears!

  • HE'S A GENIUS ^^

  • remembers me at the opening chant of this mass

  • I am sorry to say this after working on over 20 pipe organs in my life Cavaillé-Coll made there instruments so they would never half to be restored if they just left it alone it would of never had to have been worked on. Look and St.Sulpice it still has its original console and it will always have it. There's a quote "if its not broke don't fix it. Unfortunately they have completely destroyed the original sound of this wonderful pipe organ today it sounds like crap.

  • Good GOD, this video just makes my LIFE whenever I watch it...I don't even have words to describe the emotion I'm feeling right now other than a bunch of superlatives...and inspired. Latry is SUCH A BEAST.

  • This really is an excellent improvisation. It would be great if he notated and published as sheet music.

  • Olivier is simply not from this planet.

  • Amazing. Power of several thousand pipes.... It's amazing....

  • Love the jarring chord at 0:52 and the quieter theme starting at 1:28. But my favourite is the build-up at 3:06 and climaxing majestically at 3:34. The harmonies are so typically French. They seem to love their augmented and minor chords (with flattened 5th). But for this improvisation to work best, I think you need continental organ voicing. It wouldn't be the same on an English Willis

  • Wow love that massive jarring chord at

    0:52 seconds and the quieter section at 1:28 but my favourite is the build up that starts at 3:06 and climaxes at 3:34. The harmonies are so typically French. They love their augmented and diminished chords!

  • I recognize elements from Gaston Litaizes organ works for 2 organs. Listen at 1.44 and further...

  • Comment removed

  • I wanted to here gregorian music....

  • Just a tad of influence from some of his fellow Frenchmen??? Messiaen, Ravel, ... YES the French seem to have it when it comes to music, composition, and organists.

  • this is awesome

  • French organists rules !!!

  • No intention of an insult, but this improvisation would prove to be an excellent piece for the title music of an epic sci-fi movie - astonishing!!

  • absolutely unbelievable

  • Simply fantastic! I'm always amazed at others' insistence in matters of taste. If this isn't your cup of tea, fine. I've heard a number of improvisations in my day (even standing by the organ bench in St. Sulpice in 1998 while Sophie-Veronique Choplin-Cauchefer played the 11:AM mass). This skill at the organ is a more common feature in France than in the US (improvisation is a tradition there), but regardless--few people could do what Latry does here. Bravo.  (Thanks JAV for this!)

  • I love the way he sits and waits for the sound to bounce back. Luvs me some pipe organ!

  • Wow!

  • One of the most wonderful things i've ever heard! :)

  • 3:24 - 4:24 is the best part, I think.

  • I need this on CD now! That was incredible.

  • great performance! ;)

  • Comment removed

  • I visited Notre Dame on Sunday 15th November - the music sounded very like this during the procession. The atmosphere was incredible.

  • "This music was spontaneously created by Mr. Latry in the tradition of the great French organists" : one of the greatest UNDERSTATEMENTS of the twenty-first century. This is a brilliant piece of composition.

  • b e a u t i f u l ... what is this piece ?

  • Any plans to do a recording at Notre Dame?

  • Fantastic--Sunday at Notre Dame is a must.

  • I definitely love the transition between 5:32 and 5:39 as well as the rythmic made on pedals at 6:21 !

    And the crescendos-decrescendos ... I'm speechless

  • Olivier Latry est le digne successeur de Pierre Cochereau et l'heritié des grands : Cesar Franck, Vierne, Dupré.

    Très belle vidéo merci de l'avoir ajouté, rare de voir un organiste de cette envergure.

    Remarquez également comment il joue subtilement de l'appel progressif des jeux avec la pédale.

  • He came 3 years ago in Stroppari to test a Formentelli mechanical organ. It's strange, he usually plays in Notre Dame, and that day was near my home, very far from any important town! And, even stranger, only few people came to listen his concerto!...

  • he is one of the highest ranking organ players in france... notre dame de paris is the most prestigious position you can have... he manipulates 7,800 pipes... crazy huge organ!

  • This was fun to watch!

  • Sublime!

  • Merde! This blew me away! Thank you for sharing!

  • A fine impro. Great chamandes roaring through the Cathedral. Could somebody post more stuff of Jean Pierre Leguay? He is also a genius.

  • I have heard him Improvise many times! Such Talent! Someday I hope to do this!

  • what total talent, that was great to listen to,

  • Absolutely wonderful!

  • GRANDISSIMO

  • I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Latry at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, WA during a master class for the University of Washington. Very expressive playing, and pleasant character.

  • That was INCREDIBLE

  • incredible!!!

  • Does anyone know what theme he is improvising on here?

  • its an alleluia introit. There is actually another video in which it shows Olivier Playing in accompany during the Introit. . . But i don't know exactly which sunday it is. otherwise i could look it up in my copy of the Liber Usualis.

  • Amazing. It's great to see Organ videos over the web. Liked Daniel Roth in Widor 6 too.

  • From 4: 56-to 5:03 (and a bit later) a bit similar, to Harry Potters Music

  • Latry is an amazing organist. Most often than not, when there is an organ piece that I don't like at first hearing, I end up liking it after hearing Latry play it!

    Amazing improvisation too.

  • That's what so incredible about him!

  • Es un organista y creador genial!

    Gracias por colgar este video; por cierto , el sonido es awesome!!

  • I would love to play that organ

  • Too bad that somewhere around 7:56 I could swear I heard an allusion to "Three Blind Mice." It's still pretty impressive, though.

  • This is what one dreams of when one thinks of cathedral music...

  • amazing!

  • Incredible . .

  • Last night (25 June) I went to a packed Church, Emmanuel, Wylde Green, Birmingham to an Organ Recital by Olivier Latry ~ all I can say is wow! His long Improvisation on a tune submitted by someone in the Church was a tour de force and brought the packed audience to its feet!

  • A Marvelous Organ....magnific

  • Quand enseignerez-vous l'art de l'improvisation à Pierre Pincemaille !!!

    je rejoins les autres commentaires élogieux.

    Vous êtes la fierté de l'orgue français par l'exemplarité de votre jeu et de votre tenue à l'orgue.

    Et je connais suffisamment de vos élèves pour connaître la rigueur de votre enseignement

    Bravo !

  • Très belle oeuvre, ça sonne vraiment bien, l'orgue de Notre-Dame de Paris est un instrument sacrément puissant

  • Extemporisation at its very best. It would have been good to see some of the foot work!

  • An incredibly noble and majestic sound from this instrument! Latry is an amazing organist who brings a rare excitement to this literature.

  • Try sending an e-mail to JV68.

    JV68 is the owner of JAV recordings! lol

  • A superlative organist!!!

  • Oh my dear lord.....

  • Latry's marvellous.

    I sometimes wonder why organs need 5 manuals though when we only have 2 hands.

  • Well that is an interesting question. A lot of pipe organs have more than two manuals because of the bragging factor first of all =P Secondly, it allows the organist to have more ample access to the the selections of ranks he uses most. Instead of the organist having to switch stops for his manuals every time he needs to change the tone, leave the most used ones on their own manuals, switching them as they are no longer needed. it saves a lot of time and prevents pauses to change ranks.

  • Remember that the modern instrument console has evolved from the keydesk of the mechanical action organ. Each level of clavier (keyboard) actually controlled one complete organ ("division") within the aggregate instrument. By mechanical means, it was possible to control all three, four or five manuals from one of the manuals (usually the "Great" or "Grande"), or to control ("Couple") the various other organs, each of which had its own unique sound, into the "Organo Pleno," or total sound.

  • He deserves a standing O for that one, church service or not! Bravo Maestro Latry! Thank you Mr. Vitacco for sharing this rare gem of musical genius with us!

  • i love the organ of notre dame!!

    and olivier it's a great organ player!!

  • This is just mind blowing! The immensity and the power of this behemouth of an instrument - "machine" - belting it out the way it was designed to do. And then this master commanding all that at his fingertips and making it up on the spot. Simply amazes me...I can watch this all day and never grow tired of it! THAT is "church music"! :D

  • Wow. Great video. Thank you very much!

    Is that improvised or written? Or half an half?

  • Magificent. I've heard him several times and had the pleasure of meeting him both in Ireland and in the loft of Notre-dame. A superb artist and a lovely guy.

  • I am sure he ranks pretty high with other famous organists I personally think he is great

  • This is incredible!! This guy is really insanely good.

  • I got one up on all of you! I got to see and meet him in person at my church a few years back! He is a GREAT ORGANIST! Keep your eyes out for his improvisation techniques.

  • Wow!

    Merci beaucoup!! Mr. Latry a son orgue a Notre Dame!! Cette musique et incroyables...il y a tellment de harmonie bizare!

    Thank you so much!

  • Brilliant!! This guy is a pro.

  • What movie did this piece get used in? It sound familar from one that used an organ similar to this one or one before this console.

  • I would love to be able to improvise like this before a mass at my local church! Wonderful Music!

  • Yeah, My advice is that if you really like recorded soft and LOUD!! pipe organ, is that you need a set of altec lansing VOICE OF THE THEATRE speakers. They can be powered with as little as 35 watts. Yet they can handle transient amplitude skikes without clipping.

    They are big 20'' woofer, horn tweeter in a big black cabinet. James B. Lansing was a very good engineer for the reproduction of music! These speakers can really move air!

  • LOL... Yeah lets spend 4 grand on a single speaker haha.

    My JBL 4311 studio monitors will murder your 50's junk any day.

    My frequency response is better, my sensitivity is better, overall sound reproduction is better. My speakers have no measurable distortion until 75 watts.

    At 120RMS (thats what my monoblocks put out) individually my 4311's are putting out 117 decibels of beautiful sound.

    I'll give it to you that yours may go a LITTLE louder. But for the price of 1 I can buy 4 4311s.

  • großartig, brilliant, einfach genial !!!

  • AWESOME!

    I've listened at one of his concerts in Italy and it was simply excellent!

  • You would have to be tone deaf not to appreciate the stylings of Olivier Latry! I was fortunate to see him in concert at my church a few years back and damn was I impressed!  I even got to meet the man too.

  • God created this man with the purpose to play the organ... I really love listening to this music!

  • Is that a septieme in the pedal he is using at 7:27 with a Cromorne?

  • what's the registration about 7:24 on the 2nd manual?

  • Is there a better organist than latry in the world?

    And is there a better organ builder than Cavaille-Coll? I don't think so!

    I still know when he came to germany to play the first concert on a 70-stop-Rieger-Organ. That was a great sound!

  • Fantastic improvisation!

  • AWESOME!!

  • fantastique!!!

    le meilleur organiste au monde sur le plus impressionnant des instruments!!!

    Pierre Cochereau hante toujours ces lieux!!!!

    Encore bravo!!!!

  • Bravo - absolutely flawless performance - thanks that was beautiful.

  • Latry is superb. One must understand the French style. He'd send them running out of any large church in the U.S. holding their ears but in Paris you'll fall under his spell.

  • I have been watching this recording for almost 2 months and it seems to be better every time you get to it: Extraordinary dynamics, playing question-answer games with the melodic themes "orchestrated" in different stops, overall A-B-A' form, and the final call to the modal tune of the Mass just before the ending. Superb. I downloaded the flash video and extracted the mp3 score, but I wish he transcribed the piece and recorded it properly in a CD!!!

  • For all of you who have written less-than-flattering comments, I wonder if you realize that the use of the organ in French churches is like nowhere else in the world. Virtuosity, display and drama are certainly valued but so are mysticism, poetry and serenity. Chant is still a source of inspiration but the most modern approaches to harmony also have a place. Perhaps if we Americans had a more broad-minded approach to church music, the organ would have a prominent place in our musical life.

  • I love Olivier Latry.

  • takes your ears somewhere special

  • Hit the companion video to this one of Latry playing the opening chant. Pay attention to the plainchant melody used in the Mass. Then come back and listen closely to this improvisation, and note how intricately he weaves the plainchant theme into his improvisation.

    This is brilliant, truly brilliant. Latry is channeling transcendence for us...a jawdropping performance!

  • Excellent use of the crescendo pedal here, and bringing in the solo stops manually. A truely magnificent performence and a testament to the French style of Improvisation on the Greatest French Organ.

  • thats not true, this is an exceptional demonstration of the French Style of playing, Dupré's course of improvisation teaches that its not how you get to a certain note, or what note you use, its how you resolve it in any part of the piece. Chromatic harmony is very typical of any french piece, listen to Vierne or Dupré, particularly Dupré

  • Nice comment, although I would say that when it comes to chromaticisms, Vierne was the master.

    Also, just listen to the ending of his Carillon de Longpont (Pieces de Fantasie): how he gets back to the home key is something very special...

  • wow you can see the camera shake! Powerful instrument!

  • Absolutely fascinating! I just would have liked to have heard a few more colours from the organ itself....

  • Joe, a technical question: Did you have to put the audio and video tracks together when editing, or did you have a way to feed the camera with the remote audio during filming?

  • I used mic in the Nave and plugged them into my camera

  • So, what microphone do you actually use? What I mean is, I'd like to make some recordings of my own playing but a standard camera microphones don't do a good job of capturing the sound of a really large organ, Which is the problem I have.

  • Thank you SO much for putting this clip on YouTube! Olivier Latry is AMAZING!!! I sat right next to him on the organ bench for Mass 3 weeks ago. A very spiritual experience. Virtuoso!

  • and don´t forget the organists that have passed away. Pierre Cochereau Jeanne Demessieux Marcel Dupré Maurice Duruflé César Franck Alexandre Guilmant Olivier Messiaen Camille Saint-Saëns Louis Vierne Charles-Marie Widor
  • How does it come that french organists such as Latry, roth, Claire Alain, Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, Jean Guillou, Naji Hakim, Eric Lebrun, Philippe Lefèbvre, Pierre Pincemaille osv.

    How does it come that these organists are so much more famous than other organists from around the world. is it becouse of their improvisation skills or their fantastic music or are they just better organists?

  • That is one of the best improvisations i have ever heard. brilliant! brilliant, brilliant!

    Larty should write down some of his improvisations.

  • One of the greatest organists on this planet !

  • I completely agree, him, Daniel Roth and Sophie Choplin are the best improvisers on this world.

  • Does he have the sheet music. There's no way I 'll get that kind of sound out of my 199 electric organ. Amazing.

  • Unfortunately, he hasn't transcribed this piece, but it is possible, and its easier cos you can see the notes, if I had Sibelius, I would do it.

  • No he doesn't have the sheet music. He's making it up. He has the chant notated on the piece of paper in front of him, but all the registrations and everything besides the melody is being improvised.

  • It's an improvisation, it has no sheet music, it was off the top of his head, or so to speak.

  • Unfortunately, he does not, this is an improvisation on several themes which can be heard throughout the piece, if you listen carefully, you can pick out the themes, and try to create something similar.

  • He was improvising - there is no sheet music!

  • This music is coming out of his head! There is no sheet music. Just goes to show what a genius of improvisation he is, and French organists in general for that matter!

  • Quelle imagination musicale! Olivier Latry est toujours brillant!

  • I love 7:20 when the Voix Humaine comes on and he plays a portion of the chant on a light reed stop in the pedal. Great stuff!

  • it might be a Cromorne...

  • left hand- voix humaine 8

    right hand- flute harmonique 4

    pedal- cromorne 8

  • its a Clarinet in the pedal.

  • the cromorne sounds like an oboe and is a reed

  • Its a Chalumeau I believe.

  • This is so great stuff indeed! Bravo!

  • Penso che un'improvvisazione del genere in Italia sarebbe purtroppo poco apprezzata. Beato Latry, assieme agli altri organisti dell'empireo parigino che possono permettersi un modo di suonare davvero personale ed indipendente da schemi o tempi prestabiliti...

  • best! organpiece I found on the internet - absolutly great organist, composer, player - 5 stars from me

  • piss off

  • Language please

  • Hmmm, nice improvisation, but for me, it's to modern :-). I think, Intoitus for a Mass may be more classical :-D. But in France... I think all organists from France can play only romantic or modern :-).

  • That's not true. Most of them (at least the ones I've heard) can imitate any style they want. I attended an all improvisation recital a few years ago by Mr. Latry where he improvised in the french classic, german baroque, romantic, and finally his own modern style. Amazing. Or pick up some CDs by Pierre Pincemaille. Or go listen to a service played by Thierry Escaich. They can do any style they want.

  • do u even play the organ jeeeezzzz wat a loser!!!!!!!! go get a good day job and when u play a bigger organ than i do or anyone else then go comenting until then gt lost

  • A nice example what happens when virtuosity meets a lack of orginality and 32' stops.

  • Man.

    It's a thing about taste. Naji Hakim is a good organist. The same for Oliver Latry and Daniël Roth. There all very good and have there own style.

    And what about the vulgaire? What do you mean with that?

  • jeezzzzz how anyone can criticize people obviously waaayyyyyyy better than them is beyond me!!!!!!! cus guess wat ur not the ones playing on the mighty cathedral de notre damn organ and we all know its just as good as st sulpice just well different!!!!!!

  • I saw him live in concert at Hope College in Dimnent Chapel.

  • Latry is one of the best improviser is the world. I'm waiting his first impro CD! Why hasn't he got? I think many people will be happy if it is possible listening his impros in CD's. My other favorite musicians: Thierry Escaich, Janos Palur.(he is a Latry student in Hungary. His impros are similarly wonderful!) My favorite composer is Tournemire. His music is the most heavenly. I hope I will listen in the heaven this people's music!:)

  • Have you ever heard of Naji Hakim, I did a concert in the Netherlands with him last summer. His improvisations a fantastic. (a little jazzy).

  • Hakim can sound fantastic...he can also sound like a corpse has been laid on the console at times...

  • Nobody is perfect.

  • Hé les enfants! calmons-nous avec la bisbille qui-est-le-meilleur-improvisat­eur-ou-interprète, le seul qui en souffre toujours c'est l'orgue lui-même! A part ça si on essaye de faire de son mieux tout ira pour le mieux! Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année a tous! JW

  • Bien d'accord avec vous...

    Seulement il faut toutefois savoir relativiser en comparant ce qui est comparable. J'admire Latry tout autant qu'Escaich ou Pincemaille mais chacun a des talents et des mérites bien différents, voilà tout!! Ne pas le reconnaitre comme certains qui tombent dans l'idolatry(!!) est vraiment stupide.

  • Tout à fait mon cher! En passant j'avais pensé rappliquer avant vous ici même avec ce jeu de mots "Idolâtrie", "Idolatry" (en anglais, littéral même!) qui doit bien faire rire (de bon coeur!) notre cher Olivier...

    Aller, merci et mes Meilleurs voeux à vous! JW

  • bravo!

    adriano marino

  • gaston0045: Je vous envie d'avoir connnu Cochereau! Avec Dupré et Tournemire possiblement les plus grands improvisateurs de tous les temps! (mais il y en a beaucoup d'autres, tant mieux!) Grandmaison, Bélanger, Wiseman, Lebuis, Wedd et Wachner à Montréal sont quand même doués! Merci, JW

  • gaston0045: Merci de votre commentaire; je connais assez Olivier justement pour savoir comment il peut être humble et s'autocritiquer (perfectionniste!),et j'ai rencontré (et entendu imroviser!) Pincemaille en 1996 pour l'inauguration du GO de St-J-Baptiste (il revient à Montréal l'automne prochain) et donc effectivement, Latry est génial quand on écoute ses 6e+5e Widor, P de Fant Vierne ou son Int Duruflé! Merci!

  • His early recordings on BNL are just perfect, perfect technique combined with breathtaking musicality and understanding of this music plus bold tempi and registrations. It's these cd's that me become an organist myself when I was a child. For that Latry will always be someone who I idolise.

  • Merci amurugasu! I've had enough with some comments, but that's ok, you have right to your opinion. 1:Latry is for me an as good interpreter as an improviser 2:improvisation has to be understood first of all, and this one can't be more structured for a Mass Prelude. (maybe repetitive but that's part of the game in french works) thanks, JW

  • Latry lui-même reconnait que l'improvisation n'est pas sa spécialité. Il est capable de donner le change à des gens peu connaisseurs.

    Ecoutez plutôt Briggs, Seifert et surtout Pincemaille et goutez la différence.

  • Quoi? Le fait qu'il n'accepte pas d'enseigner la improvisation n'empeche pas qu'il soit un très grand specialiste, sinon le meilleur. Bien sur tu peux avoir tes preferences, mais ne racontes pas de conneries!

  • He's not smiling to nobody,there are people sitting there (there always are)

  • Latry is in my view probably the best interpreter and he's titular of one off the best organs in the world but indeed a mediocre improviser. It's a chame the organist's at Notre Dame have to improvise during Mass. Just imagine how great it would be to hear Latry play Vierne,Widor,... on this magnificant organ. I would go there every Sunday when he plays!

  • Latry is certainely a good interpreter but definitely a mediocre improviser...What a boring music! This is a shame when one has the opportunity to be the titular organist of an organ such as the Notre Dame one: where are Vierne and Cochereau??

  • you must be kidding! this guy is considered throughout the world as one, if not THE best improviser! Come listen to him in notre dame (I suppose from your conclusion that you haven't)

  • I know very very well the Notre Dame organ loft!! I use to visit it frequently and I was fortunate enough to also visit the immense Cochereau . So I do maintain my view!!(I am not the only one to think like that in France...)

  • Then you are not the only person in France with no taste.

    Must be very comforting for you.

  • For my money its Daniel Roth across town at St. Sulpice...

  • I hearded him on an old jesuit barocco organ in Belgium a few weeks ago. He was excellent; and has a great sense of improvisation, even on popular themes. On taht video, at the beginning,he looks like Virgil Fox, smiling and turning his head to nobody :)

  • The introduction sounds like a hiccup which

    needs to see a doctor.